Jesenice, Slovenia

Jesenice, Slovenia
Jesenice
Občina Jesenice
—  Town and Municipality  —

Coat of arms
Location of the Municipality of Jesenice in Slovenia
Jesenice is located in Slovenia
Jesenice
Location of the Town of Jesenice in Slovenia
Coordinates: 46°26′N 14°03′E / 46.433°N 14.05°E / 46.433; 14.05Coordinates: 46°26′N 14°03′E / 46.433°N 14.05°E / 46.433; 14.05
Country  Slovenia
Government
 – Mayor Tomaž Tom Mencinger (SD)
Area
 – Total 75.8 km2 (29.3 sq mi)
Population (2002)[1]
 – Total 21,620
 – Density 285.2/km2 (738.7/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+01)
 – Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+02)

Jesenice (About this sound pronunciation ) (German: Assling) is a town and a municipality in Slovenia, on the Slovene side of the Karavanke mountain range, bordering Austria to the north. It is known as the home of Slovenia's largest steel company, Acroni,[2] and the hockey club it sponsors, Acroni Jesenice.[3] The town name derives from the ash tree (Slovene: jêsen), which once grew in abundance locally. The history of Jesenice is tightly knit with that of its ironworks and metallurgy industries, which have until recently been the driving force of the town's development in practically all areas.

Contents

Geography and climate

Jesenice lies in the Upper Carniola region, in the Upper Sava Valley. It is surrounded by the Karavanke mountain range to the north and by mount Mežakla to the south. Across the Karavanke lies the Austrian town of Villach (Slovene: Beljak). The resort town of Kranjska Gora is 15 kilometres northwest of Jesenice, while the picturesque tourist destination Bled lies 10 kilometres to the southeast. Other nearby villages and towns include Mojstrana, Hrušica and Žirovnica. The hamlet of Planina pod Golico, 5 km north of Jesenice, is popular with tourists, especially in May when the wild daffodils are in flower.[4] Jesenice's climate is transitional between temperate and continental, with influences of alpine.

History

Early history

The German name for Jesenice is Aßling, first mentioned in a 1004 document in which Bled (Veldes at that time) was also mentioned. There were no settlements there at that time, however, and the name Assling only marked an area on the banks of Jesenica Creek.[5] Later, a settlement slowly started to grow around the area now known as Murova, where the church of St. Leonard is today.

There are few sources for the early history of Jesenice; most of them focus on ironworks. The oldest is a set of mining rights issued to the House of Ortenburg, dating to 1381. According to the document, the first settlements in the area were founded on the southern slopes of the Karavanke (not in the Sava Valley) due to need for wood, flowing water for mills, and iron ore.[6] With the development of new techniques of extraction of iron from ore, the need for water energy grew, and the small streams on the slopes of the Karavanke were no longer sufficient. The ore-extracting industry was thus relocated to the valley in 1538, when Bernardo Bucellini from Bergamo gained permission from Emperor Ferdinand to move the ironworks to a greater water source, the Sava,[7] creating a settlement that was to become Jesenice. The ironworks continued to mine ore from the slopes of the Karavanke.

Members of the House of Ortenburg were the most prominent landowners in the area from the 11th century onwards. They were at their apex in the 13th century in terms of land, encompassing almost all of the Sava Valley from its source to its confluence with the Sora River. The oldest settlement in the area of present-day Jesenice municipality is Koroška Bela, founded in the 13th century. Initially, there were no other settlements in Koroška Bela's immediate surroundings. The House of Ortenburg, however, promoted colonisation of the Upper Sava Valley, especially in ore-rich areas. Throughout the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, the small settlements of Plavž, Sava, Murova and Slovenski Javornik sprung up. On 20 March 1929 , by decree of king Alexander I of Yugoslavia, all of these settlements were amalgamated into the town of Jesenice.[8]


Industrial growth from the 19th century to World War I

The abovementioned settlements evolved independently of each other and until the arrival of the railway at the end of the 19th century; they were only connected by a gravel road. In addition to mining and ironworking, inhabitants made a living from agriculture and stockbreeding.

Different iron foundries belonged to different owners (the Zois, Ruard and Bucelleni families) and did not interact. All developed and evolved very quickly. This situation continued until the arrival of capitalist liberalism in the 19th century. Compared to other foundries around the world at the time, the Jesenice ironworks were very out-of-date. The need for their modernisation was apparent, but this would require vast amounts of capital, which neither the Zoises, the Ruards nor the Bucellenis had available. Help was offered by a family of bankers from Ljubljana, the Luckmann family. They agreed to modernize the iron foundries, but demanded the foundation of a new shareholder company. The company, named Kranjska Industrijska Družba (KID) (Carniolan Industrial Company) was founded on September 18, 1869 by the Luckmann family. The Zois family was the first to join the company, with the Ruards following three years later. The company soon expanded its activities to the Tržič ironworks and to Croatia (Topusko). This was the first time that all the Upper Carniolan ironworks were joined under a single administration, with central management in Ljubljana and business administration in Jesenice. The greatest achievement of KID was the discovery of a process for obtaining ferromanganese in a smelting furnace. This innovation brought KID a gold medal at the World Exhibition in Vienna in 1873 and worldwide fame. Jesenice ironworks achieved a status as a pioneering centre of technical invention in the history of ironworking.

Town has a long tradition in steel production

KID was also the basis for a new ironworks facility, which still provides employment today. The new facility started expanding quickly, from medieval-style iron foundries to up-to-date modern ironworks facilities in just a few years. The town of Jesenice grew almost exponentially, with a great influx of people attracted to the newly created jobs.

Political, cultural and social life at the beginning of 20th century

The political, cultural and social life in Jesenice at the beginning of the 20th century was affected by the foundation of the competing gymnastics associations Sokol (hawk) in 1904 and Orel (eagle) in 1906. The associations were aligned with competing political and social movements, and were in constant competition, providing the dynamics for political, cultural and social activities.

Other groups established at that time were a choir, a reading club, a brass band, and the Workers' Catholic Association. Three political parties: clerical, liberal and social democratic, also became active in Jesenice, all three establishing their own cultural and gymnastics associations. Germans had a great influence in Jesenice at that time; Orel and Sokol were founded as a counterweight to German influence, both being nationally-oriented.[9]

In 1904, the rolling mills were relocated from Jesenice to Javornik (at the eastern end of today's Jesenice). Stockholders wanted to cover the expenses of relocation by lowering workers wages, which led to the first strike in Jesenice, involving around 400 workers. The strike lasted for six weeks, with strikers only partially achieving their goal.[10]

In 1870, the first railway tracks were laid through Jesenice, and construction of railway station followed soon after. This made Jesenice much better connected with the world and allowed for greater exports. In 1905, construction of the Karavanke-Bohinj railway was started. This was a very complicated project, since it demanded the drilling of two tunnels: one to Austria through the Karavanke and the other through the Kobla mountain in Bohinj for better access to Italy. The tunnels were successfully completed and the railway line was opened to traffic in a special ceremony attended by Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria.[11]

1918-1945

During WWI, the ironworks were mainly converted to the manufacture of military products. The front lines being some distance to the south, the war did not reach Jesenice, which only suffered one bombing attack by Italian aircraft, with no casualties at all. With the end of World War I came major political changes - on December 1, 1918, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was formed, opening up new markets. Due to its border position, Jesenice became an important traffic junction. A grammar school was established in 1914. The first boys' and girls' school was established in 1920 and, renamed in 1935, offering higher education. There was no high school in Jesenice before the end of World War II (it was established in 1945). For its own staffing needs, KID established an apprenticeship school in 1938. Between the wars, Jesenice was also the center of various kinds of craft and small trade. A tradesman's union was formed in 1920.

Development of the ironworks continued; by 1937, 4567 workers were affiliated to a greater or lesser extent with KID.

Italy occupied Jesenice on April 11, 1941, with the Germans taking over eight days later. That resulted in the immediate arrest of some of the workers' leaders, educated and culture-affiliated individuals, and all Roma people. Forced mobilization and recruitment followed soon after. The Germans were aware of the strategic and industrial importance of Jesenice, so they soon began with a programme of assimilation, introducing lessons only in German to schools, Germanizing public signs, etc. These measures lead to the formation of the Partisan movement in Jesenice; the most significant being the Cankar Brigade.

As had been the case during World War I, the steel industry was again diverted to German military needs. Since most of the population was sympathetic to the resistance, sabotage was a problem, and the German management started importing French workers, which were followed by Italian workers after Italian capitulation in 1943.

On March 1, 1945, shortly before the end of the war, Jesenice suffered the worst bombing in its history, by Allied forces,[10] which came in two waves. There were many casualties and a great deal of damage in the centre of the town, including the total destruction of the train station.

1945-today

After World War II there followed a new economic golden age. Soon after the war, two further smelting furnaces were put into operation. The Jesenice ironworks became one of the main steel manufacturers tasked with the rebuilding the newly-founded Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and started employing more people than ever before. Many new industrial buildings were built, increasing production manyfold. With this age of prosperity, Jesenice began to develop into its present shape. As the population increased, massive building of apartment blocks, houses and residential sections took place. Cultural, sports, school, medical and traffic infrastructure was built. Jesenice became the center of black metallurgy in Slovenia. Introduction of electrical steel processing marked the era of manufacturing steel of higher quality and in greater quantities. At its peak in the 1970s, the ironworks employed more than 8,000 people.

After the collapse of Yugoslavia, economic policies changed and the Jesenice ironworks could not compete with the much more developed metallurgy in the West. Another problem was the loss of access to raw material resources, now located in the newly independent republics of the former SFRY. This led to massive layoffs and emigration of people in search of new jobs. The ironworks currently employs around 1350 workers,[12] but has undergone massive modernisation. It is currently on the level of other steel making companies throughout the world. In the years since the declaration of Slovenian independence in 1991, however, Jesenice has become much less dependent on its metallurgic industry, and is currently developing other areas of its economy.

Jesenice is presently undergoing massive urban reconstruction with the help of EU resources.[13] A new city centre is being built in the former industrial heart of the town, where almost all of the 1950s steelmill buildings have been demolished. Two shopping malls have already been built, as well as a new city hall. Current projects include rebuilding some old parts of town and improvements to sports facilities, as well as another high school.

Religion

The largest religious community in Jesenice are Catholics, but as there is a significant minority of other ex-Yugoslav nationalities, due to the past need for labor for the steel industry, migration from Bosnia-Herzegovina has supplied the town a significant Muslim minority. As with many Eastern European countries, a nontrivial portion of the populace describe themselves as nonreligious.

During the late 80s and early 90s, Jesenice functioned as a "beachead" for (often non-traditional) religious communities attempting to make inroads in Yugoslavia, with a number of "house churches" of various affiliation functioning.

Places of worship in Jesenice include:

Education

There is one college and two secondary schools in Jesenice:

  • Visoka šola za zdravstveno nego Jesenice (Jesenice College of Nursing), a nursing college established in 2006 by the municipality. The first such program in Slovenia, it is accredited by the state Council for Higher Education in line with European directives and the Bologna declaration.[14]
  • Srednja Šola Jesenice (Jesenice Secondary School), still commonly known by its former name of "ŽIC" (Železarski Izobraževalni Center or "Ironworks Education Centre"), which offers 4-year vocational courses in technical and medicinal subjects. Founded by KID on 19 November 1938.[15]
  • Gimnazija Jesenice (Jesenice High School), a preparatory school with a 60-year tradition (founded 1945).[16]

There are also three primary-level (grades 1-9) institutions:

  • Osnovna šola Toneta Čufarja Jesenice (Tone Čufar Elementary School), named after the local writer Tone Čufar.
  • Osnovna šola Prežihovega Voranca Jesenice (Prežihov Voranc Elementary School), named after the writer and communist activist Prežihov Voranc.
  • Osnovna šola Koroška Bela (Koroška Bela Elementary School), operates in two locations, with a main site in Koroška Bela and an annex in Blejska Dobrava. Formerly (pre-1992) named Osnovna šola Karavanških Kurirjev NOB (Karawanken Couriers of the National Liberation Struggle Elementary School).

Sightseeing and notable places

Places to visit in Jesenice include:

  • The Upper Sava Museum, comprising:
  • There are numerous scenic places in the nearby countryside: one can hike or cycle up to Planina pod Golico or to Pristava, where swathes of white narcisi bloom in springtime. Planina pod Golico is a good starting point for hikes further up into the mountains, to Golica, Rožca, or Španov vrh. The highest mountain in Jesenice municipality is Vajnež with 2104 meters.
  • One of the towering smokestacks of the old steelmill has been preserved as a mid-town landmark; the illuminated red star that formerly decorated its side has been replaced by advertising billboards.
  • For ice hockey fans, a visit to the Dvorana Podmežakla ice skating Ice hockey rink, home of the HK Acroni team, might be worthwhile, especially when there is a match on. Jesenice is also the birthplace of NHL star Anže Kopitar.
  • There are also a few pubs and bars frequented by young people, such as Mars (by the hockey hall), Domina, Jožef, Dimnik (in Old Sava) and Teater (next to the Tone Čufar theatre and cinema).


Notable Persons

References

External links



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